Author: thependulumswings staff

2021-Part II

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We asked yesterday.  Who could have predicted that 2020 would bring us so many 12 to 6 curve balls and 95 MPH knee-high outside corner strikes?  No one could actually.

Who could know what 2021 could possibly have in store for us in the sports and news world?  Well, BBR of course.

And we delivered our foresight on the first six months.  Today take a look at the second half of the 12-month journey below.

You’ll be glad you did and then let the champagne flow.

July-  Jimmy Fallon celebrates the Fourth by drinking a fifth on The Tonight Show.  NBC fires him on the sixth.  Courtside, Hunter Biden watches the NBA Finals held in China for the first time ever.  LeBron is named MVP of the series, retires, and is named US Diplomat to China.  Joe Biden calls and jubilantly  congratulates “LeBron and his Cleveland 49ers on the championship.”

August-  Trump’s Agent Orange TV show is canceled due to low ratings.  Trump calls it fake news and demands a recount of the viewership.  The dog days of summer roll on with record highs in the California desert reaching 127 degrees.  Gavin Newsom, poolside from his villa in Cabo, issues a mandate for all Californians to stay indoors till 2022.  President Biden announces that he and Dr. Jill are headed to “Margaret’s Vineyard” for a well-earned summer getaway.   Mark Zuckerberg creates a Facebook spinoff soon to IPO called Shitfacedbook aimed at the inebriated crowd.

September-  President Biden is hospitalized briefly after his ninth Covid vaccination.  He forgot about getting the first eight.  A lasting side effect seems to be that his face has turned pale green.  AOC proposes that the 95 trillion dollar Green New Deal be renamed in Biden’s honor.  The Senate sends a bill to Biden recommending that Labor Day no longer be recognized as it’s prejudicial against the unemployed.  The NFL kicks off another season with no kickoffs now a rule-safety first.

October- Dr. Fauci declares that the NFL face mask screwed on the helmet might help prevent the spread of Covid or might not.  Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence throws for 345 yards as the Jaguars beat the KC Chiefs in London 37-17.  The hit TV series Yellowstone passes the 200th killing mark in one year in a very rural community milestone.  Nancy Pelosi’s fifth facelift is free thanks to the “buy four, get one free” promo at Dr. 90210.

November- The Smithsonian gets the very last necktie ever for sale at Macy’s.  It’s put on display on a male mannequin in a phone booth smoking a Camel.  Tesla’s stock price hits $3000 a share, up a paltry 500% from 2020.  Scientists warn that Apple watches can cause cancer (and break legs) in lab rats when worn for over 12 hours a day.   The Dog Pound in Cleveland is rabid as the Browns head to December 12-0.

December- The Army beats Navy 28-3 to complete a 12-0 season but is left out of the FBS playoffs.   Hunter Biden is rushed to the emergency room after attempting to snort a hot marshmallow around the campfire at Camp David.  Joe Biden thanks Doc Martens for the successful extraction and reiterates to the press how proud he and his wife “Dr. Jane” are of their son.     Tampa Bay finishes 7-9 and cites Tom Brady’s time away from the team filming AARP commercials in season as a distraction.  Covid is no more, but Santa is pulled over and cited for not wearing a mask while flying over Cuomo’s New York.

2020 is no more.  2021 will soar.

Thanks for being a part of BBR.

Happy New Year!!!

 

 

2021

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Who could have predicted that 2020 would bring us so many 12 to 6 curve balls and 95 MPH knee-high outside corner strikes?  No one could actually.

Who could know what 2021 could possibly have in store for us in the sports and news world?  Well, BBR of course.

Take the first six months of the 12-month journey below.  You’ll be glad you did and then let the champagne flow.

January-  Alabama beats Clemson 45-28 and a masked Nick Saban hoists his 23rd or so FBS trophy, each as tall as he is.  The Kansas City Chiefs make it two Super Bowls in a row beating the New Orleans Saints 38-35 in overtime on a 61-yard field goal.  Joe Biden gets sworn into the highest office in the land while mistakenly placing his left hand on the bible.  Donald Trump, the most outgoing President ever, becomes the first outgoing President to not attend the inauguration.

February- To kick off Black History Month President Biden, by executive order, renames the White House the Black House.  A new civil rights organization, Tall Lives Matter, is formed and takes over four square blocks near the house, and names the area Shaq.  Dr. Fauci opines that the next pandemic could be far worse than this past one, or it might never come.

March- The stock market dives from its all-time high of 33,321 to test the March 23, 2020 lows of 18,321.  President Biden calls it March Madness and the greatest buying opportunity of his 103 years.  He proposes that the government buy Apple for 3 trillion dollars, rename it Ring My Bell, and promises free phones for all.  Donald Trump gets his own TV talk show named Agent Orange.

April- Gonzaga finishes 33-0 and wins the real March Madness tournament.  They cut down the nets sans masks forcing them to forfeit their trophy and 2 scholarships for 2022.  The Ways and Means Committee eliminates April 15 as the tax deadline effectively allowing you to pay your taxes when you wish and if you wish.  A bill on the Senate floor to rename America as Neverland is narrowly defeated 51-49.

May- Biden mistakenly signs his name on the new healthcare act as President Harris.  Mitch McConnell gets new glasses sponsored by Coca Cola. They are affectionately known as Bottoms Up.  Ghislaine Maxwell, under oath, swears that William Jefferson Clinton was such a frequent guest on Epstein’s island that they named the slip and slide into the pool after him-Slick Willie.  A race track star is born as Pie O My III wins the Kentucky Derby by 12 lengths.

June- The earliest hurricane ever recorded slams Washington, DC and it takes nearly three full weeks to drain the swamp.  The San Diego Padres win their 17th game in a row to take a commanding 12 game lead in the NL West.   George Springer hits his 27th dinger for the NY Mets.  Joe Biden, by executive order, deems 1-3 PM Monday through Friday in the Black House as nap time.  The stock market hits an all-time high of 33,666.

Tomorrow we’ll see what the second half of 2021 has in store for us.

 

 

5593 Pages and $2000

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The ride to the $2000 per family stimulus signed into law by President Trump had a few twists, turns, bumps, and bruises.  But, in the end, is or isn’t it all worth it?

The answer reminds us of a quote from a famous president of our yesteryear.  “It depends on what your definition of is, is.”

The house bill called the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, funded both the government to do its usual fine job and the citizens who don’t have a fine job.

Actually, it did that and then some.  And, some.  It’s a measly $2.3 trillion spend.

That it took a while might have had to do with that pesky election in November.  You see, multiple attempts were made to line your pockets with bread crumb money in the fall.   But, a few Dems said no and no and no for one reason or another or another.  Till now.

Senator Marsha Blackburn may have summed it up best when she said, “One of the things that is so frustrating about this is that you could have had a lot more money than $2,000 in the pocket of hard-working Americans if, back in July or September or twice in October or in November, they had voted to increase unemployment by $300 per week.

Nevermind that, take a look at what’s inside this 5593 page beautifully wrapped Christmas present if you have time.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or AOC if you’re short on time, just a few days ago complained that she didn’t.  Maybe she was out doing some last-minute shopping of her own.

The novel War and Peace was just 1225 pages.

USA Today had some time.  They feel like if you are a concerned citizen on climate change you got everything you ever wanted.  If you think climate change is a bunch of malarky it looks like you got a lump of coal in your stocking.  See what we did there?

USA Today reported that environmental activists “are touting the $2.3 trillion bill as a potential game-changer thanks to tax breaks for renewable energy sources, initiatives to promote carbon capture storage, and a significant phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that are a key culprit to the planet’s warming.”

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) supported the bill and likes the incentive features.  “Free-market innovation is the key to addressing a changing climate,” Barrasso said. “This bipartisan legislation proves we can protect our environment without punishing our economy.”  Can you hear the laughter all of the way from China?

The law also includes expanding the federal bureaucracy across federal agencies, including creating the Office of Fossil Energy, the Office of Science, and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

That’s lots of new offices at a time when the commercial real estate biz is tough because that Covid thing keeps getting in the way.  DC must be the place to relocate if you are a commercial realtor.  Perhaps a lease-to-own arrangement is best for you Uncle Sam?

The Direct Air Capture Technology Advisory Board also would be put in place.  I guess if we want to know what it is we should heed the advice of Nancy Pelosi of years gone by when Obamacare was passed.  She uttered, “if you want to know what’s in the bill you can read it after we pass it.”

Still, we wondered what the hell direct air capture was.  A quick Google search turned up a page that had a popup request that we donate to the World Resources Institute (WRI).

The WRI sounds mighty important, almost as important as the $2000 you’ve been waiting on for four months.

 

 

 

GB, KC, I, and LV

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

What did 61,946 people do all together on January 15th, 1967?  If you said they watched live from their wooden bench seats in the Los Angeles Coliseum as the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-14 in the very first Super Bowl played you were right.

A lot has changed since the first and this season’s upcoming Super Bowl LV (that’s 55), and a lot hasn’t.

It was the smallest crowd in SB history.  Leave it to uninterested Californians, even back then, to set the low mark.  But, we digress.

It was also played three weeks earlier than the date (Feb 7, 2021) that the final two teams will play LV.  Never forget that more games mean more money.  And acutely, more playoff games mean way more TV money.

No teams had bye weeks back then.  If you made the playoffs, you played off that next week.  And, only four teams in total made the playoffs.  The NFC had 15 teams while the AFC had nine.  This was prior to the next year’s major realignment.

Today 32 teams compete in two conferences that each has 16 teams.  And, for the first time ever, 14 teams (7 from each conference) will advance.

Importantly, the best regular-season record from each will have a one-week bye.  And, with one week remaining, who is in the driver’s seat for the one seed and that very valuable week of rest?  Why it’s the NFC Green Bay Packers and the AFC Kansas City Chiefs.

Maybe not so much has changed after all.  Or, maybe it has.

The popular saying that “defense wins championships” might be a bit dated.  It turns out that scoring points, and lots of them, attract even more viewers than ever.  And more viewers mean more money.  So, over the last 55 years time and again, the NFL has changed old rules and created new ones that provide the offense with a more distinct advantage by the year.

Now, if you throw in a quarterback or two that can buy more time with his feet, run for a first down when pressured, and still throw a tight spiral through a tight window, you’ve got points and points.

And Green Bay and Kansas City had just that in Bart Starr and Len Dawson.  In fact, they still do and a whole lot more.  They have the likely first and second-place finishers for the league MVP trophy in Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes.

Rodgers is a young 37 years old and seeking a second Super Bowl win.  He’s on a shortlist of the best QB’s to play in the last 15 years.  Mahomes is a mature 25 years young and is seeking his second consecutive Super Bowl win.  The QB list of the now and the future begins with his name.

Rodgers runs when he has to, while Mahomes runs when he wants to.  Both can break the hearts of a defense that forces a difficult third down and has done everything right.  That is until it hasn’t.

Green Bay can clinch the bye with a win over Chicago this week.  Kansas City already has.  The route to 55 will go through cold KC and colder GB.

Somewhere up there Vince Lombardi and Hank Stram are looking down and smiling about what might be yet to come.

And LA can relax.   After 55 years a pandemic will restrict the number of fans to far fewer than 61,946 in Tampa.

 

Smoke em’ if You Got Em’

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

After World War II ended with a big bomb the American economy exploded.

As they are known now Baby Boomers were just babies back then.  And, more was better.   Population growth meant economic growth and the housing, car, and television markets, amongst many others, took off like a Pan Am jet.

Those were the good times.  Peace and prosperity reigned.  Dinner parties were all the rage and were but an excuse for lots of drinking and smoking.

Smoke em’ if you got em.”  And most everyone did.  Advertising men, or ad men, were Mad Men back then.   Newspapers, magazines, and then tv ads for cigarettes littered the mediums like the lung darts themselves filled the ashtrays.

“Winston tastes good like a cigarette should.”  “Newport refreshes while you smoke!”  Paul Hornung was the star football player and the star of the Marlboro magazine ad with the tag line “the filtered cigarette with the unfiltered taste.” Hell, Kool Super Lights helped you discover the most refreshing low ‘tar.’  Yummy.

But, by the mid-sixties, smoking was linked as a direct cause of cancer.  And, one full generation later, smoking went from sexy to tres gauche.  By the dawn of the 21st-century smoking was not only frowned upon but was banned in many public places and private spaces.

But all the while, America’s love affair with the gasoline-powered automobile grew and grew.  Post-WWII houses generally had one car garages.  But that gave way to two, three, and even four-car garages as Motor town, or Motown, revved.   Owning a car was 1A after the dream of owning your own home.

But, now, another generation later a company named Tesla is threatening to make GM’s gas guzzlers and Ford’s loud exhausts as relevant as Taryton and Pall Mall.  Will Tesla make 2040 America look back and laugh at when 2010 America was asked “wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?”

Did you know that Ford now only manufactures two cars along with its extensive line of trucks?  One is the Ford Fusion.  The other is the iconic Mustang.  But, even Mustang will offer a battery-operated version.

Wall St thinks so with a stock market valuation on Tesla greater than all other American car companies combined.

The cig is to your lungs as the combustion engine car is to your climate it seems.   The cigarette industry and the oil industry both produce filters for their product.  The former is on life support and the latter is gassed.

Apple Corporation agrees.  It announced this morning that it plans to roll out a line of electric vehicles by 2024 with a battery that will revolutionize the market.  Wowza!

Chevrolet is still punching out Malibus while Apple is already reinventing its replacement.

GM and Ford are running out of money.  Tesla and Apple are printing it.

Smoking is out of style.  Innovation never goes out of style.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets- Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We listened.  We learned.  You want your nuggets and you want them on Monday.

It’s only four days till Christmas.  Get some exercise after this helping or you’ll feel like a stuffed turkey all week.

  1.  The final CFP rankings are in and let the debate begin, er, continue.  It’s easy to get the no-doubters out of the way.  Alabama is the best team in the US and the second isn’t too close.  Clemson avenged an earlier loss to Notre Dame by walloping the fighting Irish by 24 Saturday to claim the second spot.
  2. But the fun/controversy starts from there.  Does Notre Dame belong as the fourth seed after the walloping?  Yes says the selection committee chairman.  CFP chairman Gary Barta explained the decision to include the Irish over No. 5 Texas A&M, saying it was “based on the complete analysis of the résumé” and the Irish had an additional win over a ranked team.
  3. And, more than a few “experts” and pundits aren’t sure that #3 THE Ohio St. even belongs.  The Buckeyes played in only six games as three were squashed by a bug as opposed to the other way around.  Aggie Coach Jimbo Fisher, he of the left out fifth rated A&M team, is amongst the dissenters.  Fisher had taken aim at Ohio State’s schedule following the Aggies’ win over Tennessee on Saturday.   “Seven straight SEC wins,” Fisher said. “Some schools ain’t even playing seven games.”  We thought “ain’t” ain’t a word, but we digress.  Fisher and his $75 can talk the talk, but they head to the Orange Bowl as a consolation prize none the less.
  4. So in the end, THE passed the eye test with fewer letters(games) on that wonky triangular chart. Close one eye and read all of line four, please.  They travel to the Sugar Bowl as 6.5 point dogs to Clemson.  It’s a rematch of last year’s 2 v 3 that Clemson won.
  5. Alabama heads to the Rose Bowl in Arlington, TX to begin its coronation as a big 17.5 point favorite over ND.  Wait, isn’t the Rose Bowl played in Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA?  Yep, it normally (read as always) is.  However, this is the year of, well, you know.  The game was moved from Pasadena, California, to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, because of the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California, along with the inability for players’ and coaches’ families to attend because of state restrictions during the pandemic.
  6. BBR reached out to Cali Governor Gavin Newsome, who declined the Rose Bowl’s request for an exemption to the state’s tough stance, for comment.  We were told that he was dining at the French Laundry Restaurant all the while trying to convince Elon Musk to keep Tesla in Cali and not move it to Texas as well.   Tough times.  Newsome, facing a recall, could use some LL Cool J right about now.  The petition has 844k signatures and needs 1.5 million by March to force a vote.  We wonder if people can mail in their signature on the recall vote during these unprecedented times, but we digress once more.
  7.  Unlike the Lexus December to Remember yearly jingle, this bowl season might be one to forget.  There will be only 29 bowl games in all, down from 45 a year ago.  Sixteen were canceled.  Twenty-one teams opted out.  You need not have a winning record to play.   Army had a nine-win season and they were left out.  The SEC has 12 teams playing, six with a losing record.  The PAC-12 has two.
  8. In the NFL Antonio Brown caught his first TD pass since September 2019 as Tampa Bay completed a comeback from a 17-0 hole against Atlanta.  It was the second-biggest comeback ever for the Tampa Bay franchise.  For Atlanta, it was yet another come from ahead defeat.  The latest is the second time Tom Brady turned the trick.  Remember Atlanta leading New England 28-3 in Super Bowl LI?  Atlanta made NFL history earlier this season as the first team to lose twice in one season while holding a 15-point-plus lead in the fourth quarter. The Falcons have blown leads of more than 10 points seven times since 2015!
  9. Rookie Jalen Hurts made a strong case that he should continue as the Philadelphia Eagles’ starter, tossing three touchdowns and running for another in a wild 33-26 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Hurts has pumped life into the Philly team in two weeks.  Whining Carson Wentz weighed in.   Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Wentz is not pleased with the way things have unfolded in the organization and wants to move on from the Eagles if the current situation continues.  Wentz went there.
  10. There is NO QB controversy in Kansas City.  If you caught any of the KC 32-29 win over New Orleans yesterday, you saw “the best quarterback in all of the land.”  Mahomes can do it all.   He buys time and sucks defenders to him only to pass over, around, behind, and backward like no other.  He’s the highest-paid QB for a reason.  It’s because he’s the best QB in the NFL.  If you were starting an NFL team from scratch and could pick anyone at all to lead it, Mahomes would be your man.  Meanwhile, Drew Brees has some rust to shake off if New Orleans has any hope of seeing the Chiefs seven weeks from now in Tampa for Super Bowl LV.

It’s a short week.  Today is hump day.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Yr 3, Wk 13

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Like the calendar year of 2020 that began with so much promise, Abby’s picking prowess ran hot for a while.  Unfortunately, three straight weeks of average to below have sunk the season longs to a dog paddle slightly below water level.

For the season the won/loss/tie sits at 30-34-1.  The money bones are up 50-47, though that’s now a bit on the bookies’ side when the juice is factored in.  The hunch bet continues a stock market like turnaround.  Once at 1-4, it’s now at 5-4.  Staff members rejected the suggestion this week to rename it the Tesla/Netflix bet.

It’s conference championship week.   Abby’s going to wait a week to start the NFL picks.

  1.  The Alabama Coronation Ball, aka the SEC Championship, pits Florida with Pitts dressing out this week against the Tide L Wave Goodbye to the Competition.  Alabama will win, it’s only a question of how many.  Abby likes a sneaky under 74 and 1/2.  Two bones.
  2.  UAB v Marshall -5 1/2 – Conference USA, with more stones than the Big 10 and PAC 12 played a near-full slate of games in this year of the COVID-19. Heck, they even started sooner than the SEC.  Marshall led the herd, and the Thundering Herd will cover this evening in Abby’s Friday Night special.  It should be noted that she took Arizona +11 v Arizona St last Friday night in a Sun Devil 70-7 win, but we digress.   One bone.
  3.  USC v Oregon under 65 – Oregon is filling in for Washington in the PAC 12 Championship Game.  Isn’t that fitting?  The league that couldn’t start, then did, can’t finish without a hitch either.  And, give her Oregon(+3) as an outright win would not surprise. Two bone parlay to win six.
  4.  Minnesota at Wisconsin -12 and 1/2 –  This line makes no doggone sense to Abby.  None.  The Badgers have scored a total of 20 points in their last three contests, or roughly Bama’s average on its first three drives weekly.  The winner of the game receives Paul Bunyan’s Axe, a tradition that started in 1948 after the first trophy, the Slab of Bacon, disappeared after the 1943 game when the Badgers were meant to turn it over to the Golden Gophers.  Inexplicably Abby likes Whiskey (so does her grandfather, but we digress again) to cover.  Two bones.
  5. Illinois at Penn St -15 – We repeat.  This line makes no doggone sense to Abby.  Could the Fighting Illini get the old dead cat bounce?  Lovie Smith is loved no more in Champaign.  Abby has a strong dislike for cats dead or alive, but you have to pick one.  Take the Nittany Lions.  Two bones.
  6. Clemson -10 1/2 v Notre Dame – This line screams “take ND.”  In the rematch, much is at stake for the Tigers.   A late cover it is.   One bone.  If you’re looking for value in the game ND on the ML is +300.

Texas A&M has a lot to play for v Tennessee Saturday.  A Clemson loss would put them in the final four.  THE has a lot to play for v Northwestern in the Big 10 Championship.  A win likely will put them in the final four.  On a hunch, bet both Tennessee plus 14 and 1/2 and under 56 and 1/2 in the Northwestern v. THE game.  Abby expects the Aggies to win but not cover.  She also expects THE to work Northwestern, but not over the total.   These are two separate hunch bets.

Woof!

 

What Changed?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Helping America get back on its collective feet is a noble cause of our invaluable government.  In fact, there is a report from Politico this AM that a $900 billion stimulus package (the second of its kind in the year of our Covid) is expected to be announced today.

Yesterday’s stock market rally foreshadowed as much.  When you pump money into consumers’ and businesses’ hands it eventually lands on corporate bottom lines.  When bottom lines go up, stocks go up.

You might question why $900 billion and why today?  Perhaps you should question $900 billion and why today.  President Trump countered and countered Pelosi’s pork-filled relief bill in September and October.  She wanted a robust $2.2 trillion.  Spendthrift Trump only wanted about $1.8 trillion.  Pelosi tore into the miser at every turn.  In fact, she ripped up the pages (not really but to revisit the visual is worth the reach) of the Trump counter saying it wasn’t near enough back then.

What changed?   An election is what changed.  Why help Trump and the peasants before the election when you can delay, anger the peasants, blame it on Trump, and have them vote your way?  Now that the dealing is done, open the cash spigot a bit and make it rain all be it far less than the president was willing to do to help.

Speaking of peasants, the black lives matter movement spearheaded by the BLM organization is now impatiently waiting for a meeting with the Biden/Harris team that they peacefully protested for in many cities to ignite those same peasants to vote them in.  It’s been 32 days and counting they say.  Enough already.  Where is our seat at the table they ask?  Don’t they know that the Biden/Harris transition team is very busy?  At the sound of the tone leave a voice mail, please.

Extra busy and awfully quiet is Kamala Harris.  Remember BLM to enunciate it as “Comma Lah” when leaving the voice mail, but we digress.  In six months’ time, she accused Biden of racism and her campaign soon fell on its face.  She got up four months later, answered Biden’s call, and was nominated as the first black woman to run as VP.  Depending on from which direction the wind blows she claims to be either African American or identifies as a Black American.  What changed?  “Only in America” Don King once said.

And that isn’t the only busy signal that BLM calls have received.  Yesterday Biden announced his choice for Secretary of Transportation.  It’s none other than Mayor Pete Buttigieg.  When last we heard a peep from Pete he was dropping out of the Democratic Presidential race and holding raised hands with Biden on a stage announcing that the future was bright.  Heck, he didn’t even wait till Super Tuesday.  What changed?  A backroom back scratch for his obvious sway with the Gay Community is what changed.

Could it be more ironic that in South Bend, IN, where the honorable Buttigieg reigns, the roads are said to have some of the worst potholes of any city in America?  As Secretary of Transportation maybe Pete can grab a bit of the above-mentioned $900 billion for some asphalt?

In addition, Buttigieg faced opposition from the local black community and the local BLM organization after he demoted the city’s first black police chief, and after a white police officer shot and killed a black man named Eric Logan. Black Lives Matter activists followed Buttigieg on the campaign trail and protested him repeatedly.

Hmm.  BLM denounced his nomination loudly yesterday.  After all, isn’t that at the very core of the BLM movement?

The number that you have called is either disconnected or no longer listed.  Please hang up and try again.

What changed?  You know what changed.

The saying “politics makes strange bedfellows” need not change.

It always answers the call.

Fourth and Long

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

When the NFL calendar turns to mid-December the season is all but lost for those that have lost way more often than they have won.  Desperation, despair, depression, and disgust are all prevalent on the teams that won’t be present during the playoffs.  It’s fourth and very long.  We sample five Hail Marys and the like below.

  1. Texan’s safety Justin Reid is done for the season after suffering a hand injury in Sunday’s 36-7 loss to the Chicago Bears, a source confirmed to ESPN on Monday.  Their number one cornerback Bradley Roby was suspended for the final five games of the season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Cornerback Gareon Conley has been on injured reserve all season, and they were without cornerbacks Phillip Gaines and rookie John Reid because of injuries.   When a secondary can make Mitch Trubisky look good you’ve got problems.  And, the Texans at 4-9 have plenty of problems.
  2. As he prepares for the final three games of the season — and perhaps his New York Jets career — Sam Darnold said Monday that he still envisions himself as the franchise’s long-term solution at quarterback.  Of course, he does.  His agent told him to say just that.  The 0-13 Jets envision yet another fresh start.  And, it’s one without Darnold at QB and Gase as the head coach.
  3.  Gardner Minshew is back as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ starting quarterback.The Jaguars (1-12) have lost 12 games in a row, and coach Doug Marrone said he’s going to do whatever it takes to snap that streak and win the remaining three games.  Pride is good, isn’t it?  Minshew got plenty of praise at the end of last year and the first game of this one.  In between that, he hasn’t gotten much.  Mike Glennon and Jake Luton have started all of the games in between.  Who and who?
  4. The Eagles have a 109 million dollar problem.  They benched quarterback Carson Wentz last week after his season-long struggles. Jalen Hurts ran for over one hundred yards in his first career start and threw well enough to beat a very good New Orleans defense to earn a second start over the $109 million dollar man. Wentz is a former first-round pick and rumors have it that he’s been disenfranchised with the franchise ever since they chose Hurts in round two this past spring.  Should we say that the move they made hurts his feelings?  Ahem.
  5.  And, how ’bout dem Cowboys?  On a day when Stephen Jones said head coach Mike McCarthy will return in 2021, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said he has not given thought to his future as the Cowboys’ defense has struggled this season, allowing the most points and rushing yards in the NFL so far. “I just take it a day at a time anyway,” he said. “I’d prefer not to answer the question just because it’s not what’s on my mind.”  Picking Cee Dee Lamb in round one looks like that Cadillac in the driveway when you needed a few Ford trucks upfront on D.   Steve and Jerry got caught up trying to keep up with the Joneses when the defensive side of the ball was in great need.  Now, Nolan will be the sacrificial lamb for the pick of Lamb and other personnel moves gone wrong for the franchise.  Remember, in Dallas, the Joneses are never wrong.

The good news for most of the above is that they’ll be put out of their misery in a few short weeks.

The bad news for future picks for some of the teams above is that the endless cycle of mediocrity will continue.

What’s In a Name?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

The MLB Cleveland baseball franchise had trouble picking a sweet nickname that would endear them to their fanbase at the outset of its now 120-year run.

Born in 1901 they were named the Cleveland Blues.  The expansion team that year gave their followers the blues finishing 54-82-2 (no lights and train schedules were to blame for tie games back then).

Just a year later in 1902, they changed to the Cleveland Bronchos.  What’s with the letter “H” you ask?  Way back when “broncos” was spelled “bronchos.”  Who knew?  The fans did, and apparently, this wasn’t the answer for them either.  It lasted one season as well.

Just a year later in 1903, they changed to the Naps.  What’s in the name Naps?  Napoleon Lajoie arrived in Cleveland on June 4 and was an immediate hit, drawing 10,000 fans to League Park. Soon afterward, he was named team captain, and in 1903 the team was renamed the Cleveland Napoleons (soon shortened to Naps) after a newspaper conducted a write-in contest.

The Naps nickname lasted from 1903 till 1914.  A dreadful season in  ’14 put the Nap nickname to bed (see what we did there?) for eternity.

Since 1915 and for 95 seasons and counting the franchise has been known as the Cleveland Indians.  They’ve won exactly 51% of their 16,482 games, 6 pennants, and two World Series.

Seems like they’ve been average at best for a long time.  And, they’ve been Indians for a long time as well.

But no more.  Well, technically they will be for one more season.

Amid accusations that “Indians” is racist, the organization is expected to announce the change this week, sources said, continuing a years-long process in which it abandoned its Chief Wahoo logo and committed to exploring a new nickname, as well.

The upcoming season of 2021 is expected to be a transition from the old to the new name. You have just 12 short months to get your Indians $125 replica jersey before the new name ones retail for $135.   Perhaps they could follow the NFL’s Washington Football Team lead and identify as the Cleveland Baseball Team for a year?

At the intersection of Brand Name Blvd. and Politically Correct Circle, the train known as Cancel Culture chugged through.  So for about 96 years being known as “Indians” was good, but now, it’s bad.

“This is the culmination of decades of work,” the Oneida Nation of New York, which led the Change the Mascot Movement, said in a statement to ESPN. “Groups like the National Congress of American Indians (it’s ok for them) passed resolutions for decades on this, social science has made clear these names are harmful and Cleveland got out in front of it and they’re leading, and rather than having this hanging over their heads, they’re charting a new path.”

They’re leading says Oneida Nation!  Not really.

What took them so long?  Well, they last won a World Series in 1948, or 72 years and counting. Good things come to those who wait.

They’re following.  They always have.

They’ve been napping for over a century actually.